Houston heads home to the friendly confines of the Toyota Center desperately needing to secure their first victory and breathe some life into their quickly fading season.

Golden State manhandled them in Game 1. Game 2 saw Houston putting up a better fight, but they crumbled down the stretch and their one-dimensional offense and lack of scoring options outside of James Harden were clearly evident.

Houston Rockets

Who is going to score for these guys to keep pace? The biggest problem the Rockets have faced in the two games this series has been about their offense as a whole, but specifically secondary scoring appears to be a major weakness.

In Game 2, the point guard tandem of Beverly and Terry scored 13 points a piece, but neither of them is counted on as a major offensive weapon.

Rockets fans should be very concerned with the disappearing act Dwight Howard pulled in the game. While his 12 points were decent, if unspectacular, he amassed 6 of them in a 2 min stretch in the 3rd quarter. This means he only managed 6 points within the other 33 minutes he was on the court.

Even more troublesome was how hesitant he looked in asserting himself on the offensive end. He secured 5 offensive rebounds in the game, but on almost all of them he immediately passed the ball out despite being within feet of the rim.

This is clearly a man who is no longer confident in his abilities and without Dwight at 100% the Rockets

Keep an eye on the turnover margin in this one as the Rockets have committed 44 turnovers to the Warriors 27.

Golden State Warriors

No Curry? No problem.

Despite the score being considerably closer, anyone who watched this game could see that Golden State seemed to be in control from start to finish and the stats back it up.

Golden State led in total rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and field goal %, while committing fewer fouls and turning the ball over less.

Klay Thompson took on the role of go-to player and did not disappoint, finishing with 34 points and hitting 15 of 16 free throws.

Even without their playmaker, Houston’s defense struggled greatly against the dribble penetration of Andre Iguodala and Thompson which lead to a lot of easy baskets for Andrew Bogut and Marresse Speights.

Curry’s backup, and the Game 2 starter, Shaun Livingston presented a matchup nightmare for Houston and was able to use his 6’7 frame to get mid-range jumpers off at will en route to 7 of 9 shooting.

After witnessing that performance, Golden State can realistically consider the idea of sitting Curry for one more game to help him in the long term.

NBA Betting Trends:

Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win

Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall

Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game

Rockets are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games playing on 2 days rest

Rockets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600

Warriors are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Houston

Free Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets NBA Prediction:

There is little doubt that Golden State wins this series. I do think that James Harden will have a heat check night and carry the Rockets to one victory, but I think it waits another night until they are facing elimination.

4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Warriors ATS

If Curry plays this one could be another blowout, but even without the potential MVP Golden State goes up 3-0 on the Rockets on Thursday night.

NBA Free Score Prediction: Warriors 111 – Rockets 97

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About Kellen McRae

Another gambler from North of the Border. A diehard Toronto sports fan, Kellen spends unhealthy amounts of time poring through stats and owns a TV exclusively for watching sports. He's looking forward to having an outlet for his gambling knowledge and bringing you the straight goods on all things NBA, MLB and NFL.